Tackling Pico Da Tijuca
I apologize for the delay on my Brazil posts. I came down with some illness these last few days which has slowed down my posting abilities. I'm on the way to recovery now! Yay! So here is a good ol' healthy serving of photos. It makes me miss the fresh cool air in Brazil...
GRUTAS means CAVES
I get a huge kick out of photographing nature in any forest scenery. There's a whole lot of flowers and more flowers but I they really pop in a sea of green. The trunk below looks like an elephant!
I kept hearing a buzzing noise throughout my walk up towards Tijuca and I found these flies. They would buzz around quickly and pause a lot longer mid air which caught my attention. I was able to get really close them but again a 50mm has its limits. This is the best shot I got of the little buggers.
Next hour or so I had to stop taking photos because the hike became more physically enduring. It was strenuous on my body and hiking suddenly becomes a lot harder to do. With every step, my thighs were burning so badly. My breathing became loud and unattractive while my feet felt like lead weights. Dramatic as that sounds, it truly was a test of my body's limits along with mental persistence to tell myself to keep going. It's a really hard thing for me to accept; but, I have little internal motivation. During my walk, I felt my emotions begin to be affected by my inability to hike up the mountain. I started to complain in my head, then get angry at others, and then get upset that I was even angry in the first place. There was a huge struggle to see the positivity to continue further up. Eventually, we reached the last haul before the steps to the main sight. I was extremely weak and on the verge of tears. Call me a baby, but I didn't give up and I didn't stop to take a break either. Pressing on - its the most difficult and rewarding thing to do.
At the top, forcing a smile after a personal outward and inner battle of the elements.
That's about 3349.738 feet.
The expanse of the city is breathtaking. I wanted to remove color from the shot just to show you the city below is just packed. It's amazing how a thriving city is seated amongst mountains and ocean.
The hike downward was EXTREMELY long, but it gave me more time to take tons of photos.
Notice my sudden ability to jump after a long hike.
All smiles after the hike. My boyfriend shot the back of my head to show my messy ponytail braid which I find to be a perfect example of how I felt that day. Messy, dirty, a little bit pulled apart, and yet somewhat still standing.
